Fade Out
by Forgetful Insanity
Summary: Ruby Rose is a girl who was bumped up from Signal to Beacon two years early. Everyone knows this. But, this action ruined the grouping of the already recruited students. Diana Meranict finds herself as a lone ranger in a school where everyone has a teammate. At least she's not the overly dependent type. OC x ?
1. Chapter 1

**IF YOU ARE READING THIS, BE WARNED. I HAVE A BAD HABIT OF NOT UPLOADING AFTER LONG PERIODS OF TIME. THIS WILL BE THE ONLY TIME I GIVE THIS WARNING. THANK YOU.**

 **A/N: Anywho, yeah, I put the warning above on all my stories if you're an older reader of this story. I felt it was needed~**

 **BUT, real quick, I'm gonna let you know about one of the edits I've made to my OC in this story. The only one you need to know about in regards to what I have of her already revealed in my story is her is no longer Exnira Claude; I've changed it to fit more with the lore (I guess?) she's based off of. (Ya know, like how all the RWBY characters are based off like Snow White, Cinderella, etc.? Yeah, that.)**

 **Other than that, I don't believe there's any other major changes that would like confuse you, they're prolly just gonna be really subtle changes more than anything.**

* * *

On an airship to the famed Beacon Academy stood many students that will soon be attending there.

However.

We're not focusing on them.

We're focusing on me.

I stood about my fellow soon-to-be students, watching with my green eyes. I guess you could say my appearance is a little more eccentric then some of the other teens around me. What with my black hair, which I tie off the end with a green hairband, with dyed bright teal ends and bangs, which happen to go straight across my forehead. My eyebrows can't normally be seen unless I'm in an exceptionally foul mood. Thankfully that doesn't happen often.

Oh, right, I got off track. Sorry.

My outfit is _pr-etty_ stylish, If I do say so myself. It's got that Steampunk feel to it, with earthy tones of green, white and black and brown leather. Unfortunately, words could never describe the sheer beauty that is my style of dress.

Yes, I teased you with my outfit. You're welcome.

So, back to the airship, I just looked around to the other teens inhabiting it with me. I looked from a really queasy looking blonde to another blonde seemingly strangling a shorter black-haired girl decked out in red. I continued to look about, patting the blocky dormant form of my crossbow-halberd WhispBlade.

"Hi!" an overly-cheery voice exclaimed near my right shoulder. I gave a jump and looked to the ginger who was brightly grinning at me.

"Uh, hi," I greeted awkwardly. Now don't let this fool you. I'm typically a very extroverted person when I wanna be, but she literally came outta nowhere and scared the daylights outta me. I'm honestly surprised my semblance didn't activate from the abrupt greeting. Never had the best control of it when I got spooked.

"Nora!" cried an ebonette with a single pink streak in his hair. Thank dust I'm not the only one with colored dye in their hair. "Why did you run off so suddenly?!"

"Ren!" she directed her sea blue eyes to the approaching male. So her name was Nora? And his is Ren, I guess. I'll prob'ly have to store those in the memory box for later. "I'm making friends!"

Ren shook his head at the shorter female. Why does it seem like this happens all the time? "Nora, it looks more like you gave her the scare of the day." Huh, well, he's not wrong.

"Oh, don't be such a party pooper!" Nora waved off her friends comment. She turned back to me, "So what's your name? I'm Nora Valkyrie! and this is-"

"Lie Ren," the pink-eyed male finished. He has really pretty eyes. And hair. And face. Yeah, he's really pretty.

I gave a wave, now finally used to the pair and their antics. Yeah, I'm surprised, too. "Diana Meranict, at your service," a mock bow accompanied my introduction.

"Ooh, can I hire you as a minion?!" the ginger questioned excitedly. She took that seriously, okay then.

"Nora, no."

"Aw, c'mon, Ren!"

"No."

Nora was going to argue when the news program nearby changed to show a hologram of Glynda Goodwitch, a huntress and one of Beacon Academy's teachers.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon," the light blonde hologram greeted, "my name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among the privileged few who have received the honor of being able to attend this prestigious academy." Oh geez, it's one of those speeches. We already know how fancy the school is, but they always remind you of it for some reason. "Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future hunters and huntresses it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task. And now, it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and training needed to protect our world." With that, the hologram faded out.

Everyone then turned their focus to the approaching building that loomed closer, sounds of awe being released.

However, one teen wasn't admiring the view like the others. The blonde looked like he couldn't take the queasiness anymore as he booked it to the other end of the airship. Thankfully, we were much closer to the docking station and he made it just in time as the doors opened, the blonde quickly running out to a trash bin.

"Poor guy," I commented to my new companions as we exited the airship. "So," I started looking to Ren since he seemed a little more reliable than Nora. Okay, I'm lying he seems a lot more reliable. "Any idea as to where we head to now?"

"I would assume the best option would be to follow where everyone else is headed," the ebonette replied, pointing to the other teens walking straight ahead.

"Alright, that's easy enough."

"Ooh, ooh!" Nora started squealing, drawing looks from me and Ren.

"...What?" we asked simultaneously. It seems with Nora around, me and him may be on the same wavelength.

"Let's have a race there!" Our male companion didn't even have a chance to protest before Nora ran at high speeds away from us.

Pink and green eyes just watched as the hyperactive teen got smaller and smaller in size. "How often is she like this?" I don't think I really want an answer, but I got one anyways.

"Too often."

* * *

Thankfully we caught up with hyper ginger and stood in a crowd of students. The three of us were actually standing near the blonde and black-haired girls from the airship. Actually they were behind us. Same thing.

Ren was standing in between Nora and me, so he was taking the full brunt of the girl's ramblings.

Thank you, Ren.

I was able to eavesdrop on the girls behind us. I was bored, all right. Apparently the short girl, Ruby according to the blonde, had "blown up". What a great first day of Beacon for her, am I right?

"Are you being sarcastic?" the busty blonde sang with a smile.

Oh my, she really thought Ruby wasn't serious.

Wait, how did any of that equate to sarcasm?

Also they're sisters. Prob'ly half-sisters since they have a lot of dissimilarities.

Ruby began rambling about the situation until a harsh " **You!** " cut the younger girl off.

Oh no.

Not the heiress, oh no no no.

Ruby, for the love of dust, keep her attention on you; she absolutely hates my guts.

"Oh god, it's happening again!" the red clad girl cried as she jumped into her sister's, I think I faintly remember Ruby saying her name was Yang, arms.

"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!"

Yang stared Ruby with wide violet eyes, "Oh my god, you really exploded." Yes, blondie, I don't think anyone kids about it if they ramble like Ruby did.

"It was an accident," the silver-eyed girl was let down from her sister's arms and repeated her defense more vehemently. However, a pamphlet was shoved in the teen's face, "What's this?" Weiss started rambling about the Schnee Dust Company's policy regarding their dust. "Uhh..."

Ice blues eyes glared into silver, "Do you really want to start making things up to me?"

"Absolutely," Ruby squeaked.

"Read this and don't ever speak to me again."

"Look, uh," seems Yang wants to be the peace keeper; funny since she seems like the type to have a fiery temper, "it just seems like you two got off on the wrong foot! Why don't you start over and try to be friends, okay?"

Ruby tried taking this advice but Weiss just gave her usual sass, even involving the queasy blonde from earlier.

Everything seemed fine now.

Oh, wait, we locked eyes.

Oh, she looks angry.

 **ABORT. ABORT.**

" _ **You!**_ " a manicured finger was jabbed in my direction as she stalked forward.

"Heyy, Weiss," I greeted nervously, "how have ya been? You look as lovely as ever to-"

" _Do not_ try to sweet talk your way out of this!" I looked into angry icy orbs, "You left _serious_ damage on the company's factory when you came last week! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

"Look, Weiss, c'mon!" I held my hands up in defense. Her temper is not short but still quite scary when she wants it to be. "You know how clumsy I can get! I can't help that when my family comes for product negotiations, I'm forced to come as well!" I looked off to the side and muttered, "Trust me, I really wouldn't come if I didn't have to..."

"That doesn't matter!"

"Uh, what's up your dress?" Yang questioned my _dear friend_ curiously, looking between me and the heiress. We had drawn the attention of both the sisters and my new friends.

"Excuse me?! She has caused substantial damage to some of our factories! Of course, I'm upset!"

"Yo, my family covers the damage costs just fine!" I cried indignantly. I really get how Ruby felt now 'cause I _really_ want her to stop yelling at me. Especially with her voice that shrill, oy vey.

"Ooh, Ren, we have our very own soap opera!" Nora squealed.

Ugh, the betrayal.

Weiss calmed down, if only a little bit, and huffed as she turned away from me. I sighed in relief.

I decided to provide explanations, since I was receiving three very curious looks. "Like Weiss, I'm the daughter of a very well known company; however, unlike her family, mine sells weaponry rather than dust." Why are Ruby's eyes lighting up like that? "We supply the parts needed to build weaponry to Signal Academy as well as build custom weapons for those who order them." Okay, she's scaring me now. "I'm acquainted with Weiss 'cause our families often collaborate to make weapons powered by dust."

"Okay, then why is she so mad?" Yang inquired, holding back her sister.

I started pressing my index fingers together and laughed nervously, "Ya see, I tend to be an _awful_ klutz, and whenever my family goes to the Schnee factories, I always end up breaking something and now Weiss hates me..."

Ruby looked like she was going to explode for the second time that day, but the sound of a clearing throat got our attention.

"I'll keep this brief," Professor Ozpin said into a microphone, pushing up his glasses. I turned around fully to face the stage. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy." Something's up with Ozpin... He seems weird today. "In need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will only prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

The silver-haired man walked off the stage as Goodwitch took his place at the mic, "You will gather at the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins." Her eyes sweeped the room as she finished with, "Be ready. You're dismissed."

"Yo, anyone else saw somethin' wrong with Ozpin?" I asked, looking to the others.

"Yeah, he seemed kinda...off," Yang replied as she looked to her sister.

"It's almost like he wasn't even there..."

"I'm a natural blonde, you know," we looked over and saw, as Weiss referred to him, "tall, blonde, and scraggly".

"Ayy, queasy blonde!" I greeted cheerfully, watching as he fell to the floor in despair. Snickering, I left the group with a wave and walked with Nora and Ren.

Yeah, this place seems fun.


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone was now gathered in the ballroom, sleeping bags scattered all across the floor and everyone changed into their PJs. Ren and Nora were already sacked out, odd considering I figured the ginger to be a ball of energy even at night. Though one thing I learned from this is that she sleeps like the dead and snores like a bear.

Lovely.

I decided that with those two knocked out I would head over to Yang and Ruby, even though we weren't formally introduced yet. Eh, that can easily be fixed.

I walked up to the siblings just in time to see Yang get a pillow thrown in her face.

"Shut up!" Ruby gritted out after assaulting the blonde. "I didn't get to take my friends with me to school; it's weird not knowing anyone!"

"What about Jaune?" Yang offered. "He's...nice. There ya go plus one friend! That's a hundred percent increase! Not to mention that girl we met today! Another friend!"

"We don't even know that girl's name so down to one. Pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to zero..."

"There's no such thing as negative friends. You just made one friend, one acquaintance, and one enemy!" Another pillow assault. "Look, it's only been one day. You have friends all around you! You just haven't met them yet."

I deemed it good to speak now, "Diana Meranict."

"Huh?" silver and violet eyes stared up at my form.

"There, you've met me. We're friends now, right?" I asked with a grin.

Yang beamed up at me as she roughly patted her younger sister's back, "See, there ya go! I told ya so!" The blonde looked back to me as Ruby rubbed her now aching shoulders. "My name is Yang Xiao Long! And this is my little sister Ruby Rose! Nice to meet ya, Diana!"

The black-haired girl smile at me awkwardly, "Yeah, it's good to finally know your name."

"Likewise," I nodded, "You two are an interesting pair, to say the least."

Yang laughed, "At least our hair is still our natural colors!"

I raised my hands in surrender, "Guilty."

I saw Ruby glanced to the side where a warm light flicked on. Looking in the same direction, I saw a ebonette with a black bow in her hair leaning against the wall, reading a book. "That girl..." the younger female trailed off.

"You know her?" the busty teen inquired curiously.

"Not really, she saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything."

"You should talk to her," I suggested. You don't have to be a genius to see how awkward Ruby is with new people. I can sympathize with her cuz I was like that when I was younger, too. I just mellowed out over the years (other than when people get the jump on me, that is). I think she should try to break that shell surrounding her, and this seemed like a good situation to.

"Yeah, now's your chance!" Yang proceeded to drag her sister over to the reading girl while I watched them, yawning in my hand.

"Welp, I'm headin' off to bed," I spoke over Ruby's complaints and headed back to where Ren and Nora were sleeping. My sleeping bag is position next to Ren since I fully plan on using him as a shield when Nora gets overly chatty. He'll be fine. I'm pretty sure they're like childhood friends or something.

He's been dealing with it for a long time, he can deal with it a little more.

* * *

"Wake up, lazy buns!" I heard Nora's voice as I was waking up. Knew she was going to be a morning person, ugh. I also heard her singing "It's morning!" repeatedly as Ren rose from his lying down.

I threw a pillow over my face and groaned as I still heard Nora singing, "I'm not gonna get to fall back asleep, am I?" I questioned the male at my side.

"No, you're not." I gave a louder groan before I tossed the pillow and finally sat up, my bangs no longer their normal straight but a mess of cowlicks. Yeah, I get bad bedhead, that's why I tie the rest off so it's not too god awful. Ren got up from his sleeping bag and lent me a helping hand in getting up as well, which I gladly took, as Nora continued to ramble out things we didn't bother listening to. The three of us left the ballroom to go brush our teeth and, in my case, hair.

"Can you believe we've been at Beacon for a full twenty-four hours?" Nora spoke while Ren brushed his teeth and I tamed my hair. "Not that I thought we would get kicked out or anything. You're the perfect student and I'm, well, me! Diana seems like she wouldn't care about breaking any rules."

"Too much trouble," I commented in agreement. She surprisingly has a good read on me, but it's kinda the same with me to them. I feel like I've gotten to know them pretty well within the one day. Weird.

"But it's just crazy, ya know?"

"We've been friends since _forever_ ," Nora said as brushed her hair, "and one day, counting Diana." We were back in the ballroom to put the sleeping bags up and away. "What're the odds that we'd still be together? Well, not _together_ together. Not that I'm not saying you're not handsome. You are handsome, but that'd just be weird, right?" I can't tell if she said all that awkwardly 'cause she still spoke really casually.

I ship it.

"Right, what was I thinking?" the ginger questioned rhetorically with a pancake hanging from her mouth. We had moved to the cafeteria for breakfast and she was still rambling, good grief. "But, so, I hope we all end up on the same team together." Nora was somehow able to _slurp_ up the pancake in her mouth.

She's such a conundrum.

"Ooh, we should come up with some sort of plan!" She stood from her seat and placed her hands on mine and Ren's shoulders, "To make sure we end up on the same team together! What if we bribe the headmaster."

"Ya know, as full proof as that sounds, I don't think it'll work," I commented and Nora gained a thoughtful expression.

"You're right, he has a school."

Not what I mean, but okay.

Now in he hallways of the school, Ren and I opened our lockers (lucky us we were locker mates) as Nora cried "I know!" We grabbed our gear, his StormFlower and my WhispBlade, as the blue-eyed female continued talking. "We'll have some sort of signal, like a distress signal!" Nora gave a sudden gasp, "A secret signal so we can find each other in the forest!" She got between us and stared at us calculatingly, "Can either of you imitate a sloth?"

"Nora?" Ren spoke.

 _HE FINALLY SPOKE._

"Yes, Ren?"

He compacted his pistols in his sleeves, "I don't think sloths make a lot of noise." I strapped my crossbow-halberd onto my belt and shut my locker, watching the two apparent long-time friends.

Nora looked around before grinning, "That's why it's perfect! No one will suspect we're all working together!"

"Come on, you two, let's go," the ebonette shut his locker and started to walk with me and Nora following. Okay, Nora was actually bouncing more than anything.

"But not together-together."

I nodded my head in amusement at the shorter girl at my side, "Yes, yes, Nora, we understand very well."

* * *

The three of us and some other students were all lined up in a row and standing on what I could see were platforms in-bedded into the ground. In front of us stood Goodwitch and Professor Ozpin, with his trusty mug still in hand.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors," Ozpin spoke. "Today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

Goodwitch looked to us, "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates, today."

I looked over and saw Ruby looked a bit uneasy at the idea of already getting our teammates.

Ozpin resumed, "These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is within your best interest to be paired with whom you work well with." This didn't seem to help Ruby either. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years." Oh yeah, Ruby's gone. Ozpin broke her.

To my right Nora turned to Ren and said, "See, I told you."

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path or you will die." Okay, now queasy blonde looks scared. Nora just looks really happy. "You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path, containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and we will grade you appropriately." There was a pause, "Are there any questions."

Queasy blonde raised his hand, "Um, yeah, sir-"

"Good," Ozpin interrupted.

An _A_ to the kid for trying, at least.

"Now, take your positions."

Everyone readied themselves for blast off. I widened my legs a bit and tried not to be too stiff.

I was third to get launched.

The platform lurched forward and I was sent flying through the air. I was pretty chill whilst all this happened. I grabbed WhispBlade from my belt and had her open into her combat form. Spotting a tree branch coming in hot, I gave the halberd a twirl before unhooking the clasp in the middle of the staff. With a toss, I sent the head of my halberd flying to the branch, a chain trailing behind it as it went. It wrapped around the tree limb and sent me circling a few times before I gave a harsh tug. I landed in a crouch on the ground, branch hitting the dirt at my side with the chain still wrapped around it.

I tugged the tree limb free and, with a click of button, the chain reeled back into the staff as I reclasped it. Standing from my crouch, I twirled WhispBlade before resting her on my shoulders.

"Time to get this show on the road."


	3. Chapter 3

I had been walking through the Emerald Forest for a good bit, taking out any grimm that got in my way. Ursai honestly aren't that hard to take care of, but I don't like Beowolves. Since they're grimm that live in a pack, they gang up on ya and I don't like that one bit. At one point I heard a very feminine scream in the distance.

I was walking when a bulky guy with brown short cropped hair stumbled onto the scene. Oh no, he looks like a jerk. I know people say "don't judge a book by its cover", but I generally have a good sense of character and he is not fitting into the nice category.

I quickly covered my eyes and turned away from him. "Uh, what're you doing?" Oh, he even sounds like a jerk. "Guess we're partners now-"

"Nope," I said quickly.

"What?"

"We aren't partners because we haven't made eye contact yet; therefore, I'm leaving." With that I cracked my fingers and ran into the thicket of tress.

* * *

I must've been _really_ far from where the relics were, cuz I feel like I've walking for a half hour at least.

Thankfully though, I was able to find them and grabbed a black pawn chess piece. Why was there only one? And why would they choose these as relics? It seems a little more than just a random selection, but I won't dwell on it.

Is it worrying that I still don't have a partner?

I mean, I'd rather go solo than have to be paired up with that jerk. I'm sure they won't let me go just 'cause I don't have a partner.

Positive thoughts.

I walked further, noticing pieces of rubble and dirt all over the place, not to mention some blocks of ice and a snowflake pattern on the ground off to the side. Wasn't that the Schnee family emblem? I looked at the place strangely, but continued walking. I walked amongst a series of stone columns— wait, I meant a series of rubble that looked like they used to be stone columns. I walked far enough and reached a collapsed stone bridge. Looking ahead I saw my four new friends, queasy blonde, reading girl, and Pyrrha Nikos.

I saw Ren face down on the concrete with everyone else other than Ruby standing.

I've now learned that Ren is like that of an old man.

Ruby was at the top of the mountain with her scythe drawn, and the body of a decapitated Nevermore falling.

"So, um," I shouted from across the way, drawing their attention to me, "what exactly happened while I was gone?" The bigger question was:

How was I going to get across?

* * *

All the teams had gathered in the auditorium for Ozpin to announce.

And then there's me.

I am _still_ teamless.

Jaune, as I've learned is queasy blonde, looked at me in concern, "Aren't you worried about not having a team?"

Yang nodded, "Yeah, I don't think they've had a person who didn't have a partner, let alone a team."

I grinned at them, "I doubt they would just ditch me after I passed initiation, on my own no less."

Jaune stared at me as CRDL was called on stage, a team of four boys containing the jerk I was almost paired with.

Dodged a bullet on that one.

"How can you be so sure? It seems like a pretty nerve wracking situation," the blonde male asked in confusion.

"Oh Jaune, you know how much of an optimist I am."

"I've only known you for less than a day!"

"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren," I heard Ozpin on stage.

I patted my ebonette friend and looked to his now teammates, "Looks like you guys better get up there." They smiled at me and went up on stage. They were then dubbed team JNPR. It wasn't long before Ruby and the rest of the gang were called up on stage and became team RWBY.

The group of eight were now off stage, "Diana Meranict," I heard and turned to the stage.

"It's go time, babes," I said as I walked onstage.

"Though, we have not encountered a student who does not have a partner nor a team, we are fully prepared to undertake you, regardless." I sighed softly, relieved that I was correct in my assumptions. I may have showed I wasn't nervous, but I was still worried about what would happen no matter how calm I seemed about it. "You showed great skill and promise when making your way through the Emerald Forest. It was decided that you would aid teams as an extension on missions, and if anything were within your realm of skill, you would be free to tackle it yourself." Ozpin smiled at me, "Congratulations and welcome to Beacon, Miss Meranict." I grinned at the professor and walked off stage, getting tackled in a hug by three overly excited females.

"Yay! We all made it!" Ruby cheered.

It was a good day today.

* * *

It was the next day and I was in class by eight-forty this morning. I dunno who I have with me yet, I just know I have Grimm Studies with Professor Port.

Goodie gumdrops for me.

Either way, I don't really care. I was able to sleep more in this time of waiting for class to start. I was in the first row to the right on the far end, so I was kinda out of Port's radar, thankfully.

I was peacefully resting until a ruckus on the other side of the room woke me up. I lifted my head and saw Weiss in the center of the room and a Boarbutusk in a cage. Looking to my left, I saw the rest of team RWBY was in this class with me, Blake being the closest to me.

I tapped the golden-eyed female to get her attention, "Yo, what's going on?"

"Oh, hey, Diana," she greeted before explaining, "Weiss is trying to prove that she's qualified enough to be a true huntress."

"Well, this'll be good."

"Go, Weiss!" Yang cheered.

"Fight well!" What a cute little flag Blake has.

"Represent team RWBY!"

Weiss looked to the youngest teen, "Ruby, I'm trying to focus." Um, pardon moi, but you didn't say anything about the other two, Snowflake.

She's totally bitter about not being the leader.

"Oh, sorry..."

"Get rekt, Weiss," I called, receiving a glare and three shocked looks. Hey, after that, she doesn't get my support.

Plus, this'll be the perfect exercise to put her in her place.

AKA: the place where she isn't allowed to be mean to precious creampuff over here.

"All right," Port bellowed, "let the match begin." With that the Boarbutusk was released to attack.

The grimm led a full on charge towards the heiress who slashed and rolled out the way before she could get hit. Skidding to a halt, the Boarbutusk glared at Weiss as she remained on guard.

"Aha! Wasn't expecting that, were you?" Professor Port questioned from the sidelines.

"Hang in there, Weiss!" Ruby cheered, despite the cold response she received earlier.

I on the other hand, was not so nice.

I held a banner above me head with the words " **GET REKT** ".

"'Ana, what're you doing?!" Ruby harshly whispered. Aww, she gave me a nickname.

All the more reason for the banner.

Weiss took a sliding dash to the grimm, I'm assuming with the help of her glyphs.

Or she could secretly be wearing heelys in her boots.

Anyway, she had her rapier poised to stab the Boarbutusk. Her blade, unfortunately, got caught in the creature's tusks, rendering her to be more vulnerable now. The white-haired teen tried tugging Myrtenaster free.

"C'mon, Weiss, show it who's boss!" Said girl glared at her team leader, and, without her attention, her rapier was sent to the other side of the room. Weiss was hit with the brute force of the tusks and sent on her back.

"Oh ho," I am so done with Port's commentary, "now what will you do without your weapon?"

Ice blues glared at the creature as it prepared to charge forward. When it did, Weiss quickly dodged to the left outta the way, the grimm running past her and into the row of desks, the force flipping the Boarbutusk over. The huntress-in-training wisely choose this as her chance to retrieve her blade.

"Weiss, go for its belly! There's no armor underneath-"

"Stop telling me what to do!" the heiress finally snapped, discouraging the little red. I started waving the banner once more, happily humming a tune. This is one of my moments where I put forth a lot of energy I normally keep reserved.

Sadly, it's towards my want for Weiss to get creamed. What a shame.

The Boarbutusk chose a unigue charge of spinning in a rapid circle towards the petite teen. Thinking quickly, Weiss projected one of her glyphs in front of her as a wall to stop the charge while another was above her to help push her forward to stab the beast.

With the fight over, Weiss lay there panting, her rapier still in-bedded in the grimm.

"Bravo, bravo!" Port, I guess, cheered? "We are truly in the presence of a huntress-in-training!" Weiss was finally standing as our teacher continued, "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, AND stay vigilent. Class dismissed." Everyone watched as Miss Prim and Proper walked off.

I was the second one to leave.

* * *

 **Omake**

 _With Glynda and Ozpin_

"Our last pair has been formed, sir," Glynda reported as she stalked forward to stand beside the headmaster. She tapped a button on her touch pad, "Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren." The light blonde stared at the now formed partners, "Poor boy, I can't _possibly_ see those two getting along." Oh, if only she knew. "Still," she pressed another button, displaying a blonde and red-haired pair, "he's probably better off than Miss Nikos."

Ozpin hummed as he looked out the corner of his eyes.

"I don't care what his transcripts say," the green eyed woman nearly huffed, "that Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat." Another tap and a familiar ebonette with dye bangs and ends was displayed, "It's rather disappointing. Miss Meranict and Miss Nikos would have made a wonderful pair." Goodwitch sighed, "Even more disappointing is that there's no one left for Miss Meranict to partner up with, everyone's taken." She turned her head to the silver-haired man, "I suppose recruiting Miss Rose had a few more set backs than expected."

"Hm," the headmaster hummed as he sipped at his coffee, already forming a plan for the solo teenager.

"I guess we'll see what happens," Glynda relented, closing her touch pad. "At their current pace, they should reach the temple in a few minutes. Speaking of which," she turned back to Ozpin, "what did you use as relics this year?" Not receiving an answer, she spoke, "Professor Ozpin?"

The man did nothing but hum once more.


	4. Chapter 4

I barely got three feet from the class before Weiss turned on me. "What was that just now?" Ice blue eyes glared into my calm green ones.

"I dunno," I shrugged nonchalantly, "why don't you tell me."

"What's your problem?!"

Oh, that's it. "The problem here, heiress," I started, now also glaring, "is that you're disrespecting your leader all over the place."

"I refuse to-"

"To see Ruby as your team leader?" I finished the thought, hitting the nail on the head. "What, you think you'd make a better one?" I'm not gonna let her put her two cents in anymore. " _Professor Ozpin_ choose who would be leaders and who would be led. You think you know more than the headmaster of the school you attend? Please. He's been doing this before we even wanted to be huntsmen." I stared into Weiss's eyes, "There's more to being a leader than smarts and a couple years more of experience. Tell me something, did you give out any orders in the initiation?" No response. "Did you know about the unprotected region on that Boarbutusk in class?" Again, I didn't get a response. "You see, the problem here is the fact that ever since you've met Ruby, you saw her as an incompetent child. Sure you may have put aside that when you were in a life or death situation, but as soon as she took the role of leader, you snapped right back into that thinking. _Especially_ , since you're bitter about not getting the role."

"I'm not bitter-!"

"Weiss," I said sharply, cutting off the white-haired teen, "keep interrupting, and I'll lose my cool even more." Deep breaths, Diana. "You're being a brat about this. I would feel sorry for the team you're ever a leader of 'cause you wanna know what I see? A sorry excuse of a leader who thinks only some qualities can help her get by." With that, I decided it was time for me to leave. I walked past the heiress, throwing one last sentence over my shoulder.

"Come find me when you've gotten a reality check."

* * *

I was walking to my dorm when I was stopped on the way. "Miss Meranict," I heard to my left. Turning me head, I saw I was by Professor Ozpin's office with him standing just outside the door. "Nice to see you. I heard your little speech today."

Uh oh. "Ooh," I drawled nervously, "yeah, that wasn't one of my finest moments."

"Nonsense." What? "Despite how brash it was," the silver-haired headmaster started, "it held a fair amount of truth in it." I held a relieved smile. Thank dust he didn't think I was out of line. "Besides," he gained an almost teasing smile, "it's always nice to hear how much faith my students have in me, even if it's only a handful of them."

"Well, I mean, you are our headmaster; it's silly to not have any faith in the decisions you make."

"Hm, right." He sipped from his mug. "I assume you were heading to your dorm; you may carry on now."

"Yeah, nice chatting with you, Professor Ozpin." With that, I left the adult and continued on my way to my dorm.

I seriously want some sleep after today.

* * *

It was the next day and I was early to Professor Port's class. I was staring off into space until I heard the call of my name. Looking forward, I saw the heiress I had my fallout with yesterday. "Hey, I got that...reality check." Weiss said, somewhat timidly. This is definitely a change of persona.

"You have?" I asked skeptically. "So, what have you come to realize?"

"That maybe I shouldn't dwell on the things I don't have." Welp, she's starting off good. "I should just focus on the things I have, like improving and honing my skill. Rather than complain about Ruby being the leader, I should just be a better person as well as a better teammate."

I smiled at her, happy with what I've heard, "Okay, we're good now." She smiled back at me, "You just needed a little nudge to get where you are now. Sorry I was so forceful about it." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly while grinning.

"It's fine, like you said, I needed that push."

I held my hand out, "Call it truce and be friends?"

Weiss nodded and shook my hand, "Deal."

* * *

It's been a few weeks since that first day of school. Weiss and I are still chill and her and Ruby have become better friends and teammates, as well.

We were now in Professor Goodwitch's class of Battle Strategies. In this class, you, of course, discuss battle strategies and the like, but you can also go up against one of your classmates in a fight.

Which happens to be what Jaune and Cardin, the jerk from the forest, are doing right now.

With Jaune losing.

"That's enough," Goodwitch said, ending the fight before Cardin could smash Jaune into sauce.

Told ya he was a jerk.

Goodwitch walked to the front of the stage, "Students, as you can see, Mister Arc's aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament style duel, this would indicate that Mister Arc is no longer fit for battle and that the official may call the match." Goodwitch turned to the blonde still lying on the floor, "Mister Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your scroll in combat. Gauging your aura will help you know when it is better to attack and when it is better to move to a more...defensive strategy." The light blonde's voice took a teasing lilt, "We wouldn't want you to get gobbled up by a Beowolf, would we?" I never knew the no-nonsense teacher could tease. Hm.

The more you know.

"Speak for yourself," I heard Cardin mumble. I shot the teen a glare as he walked off stage.

"Remember everyone! The Vital Festival is only a few months away!" As the green eyed woman spoke, I looked to the dejected blonde behind her. I can see he's getting tired of not being able to properly fight. What I don't get is, how did he get into Beacon if he's not that great of a fighter? It looks like he hasn't been trained at all. Not to mention, he has no sense of caution, which is something you gain when fighting in practice combat.

Did he forge his way in?

I mean, I didn't wanna assume anything bad about Jaune 'cause he's such a nice guy. But the way he fights and how prestigious Beacon is doesn't add up.

"It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing." The RWBY girls minus Blake were all excitedly squirming in their seats. I exchanged looks with Pyrrha, who was on my left, as we watched them. "Those who choose to fight in the combat tournament will represent all of Vale." The bell rang. Looking back to Pyrrha I saw her look sadly at Jaune who still looked dejected.

I sighed at the situation.

* * *

"So there we were," Nora spoke ominously, "in the middle of the night."

"It was day," Ren corrected.

"We were surrounded by Ursai."

"They were Beowolves."

"DOZENS OF THEM!" Nora cried standing from her seat.

"Two of them." I snickered at Ren's side. Nora's dramatics always got me.

We were all at lunch, JNPR and I on one side of the lunch table with RWBY on the other.

"But they were no match," the hyper ginger continued, not acknowledging Ren's corrections. "Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of lien selling Ursa skin rugs." She plopped back in her seat proudly.

Ren sighed, "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now."

"Lucky," I commented, scratching the side of my head, "I don't ever remember my dreams. I sleep and just wake up." I blew air up at my bangs, "It's so boring, ugh."

"Jaune," Pyrrha began, turning to her team leader, "are you okay?"

"Huh?" the blonde voiced, as if coming out a daze. "Oh, yeah, why?"

"It's just that," Ruby started, "you seem a little...not okay."

"Guys, I'm fine." I dunno about anyone, but I gave Jaune a _really_ blank look at the statement. "Seriously!" He held a thumbs up, "Look!" Doofus gave a nervous laugh.

I heard Cardin's obnoxious laugh but refused to look his way.

He doesn't deserve the attention.

"Jaune, Cardin has been picking on you since the first week of school," the redhead athlete said.

"Who, Cardin Winchester?" Jaune gave a poor excuse of a scoff. "He just likes to mess around. Ya know, practical jokes."

"He's a bully," Ruby said with narrowed eyes.

"You bet he is," I agreed. "I could tell since initiation."

"Oh please, name one time that he's 'bullied' me."

"Hm, well," I held up one finger, "That time he knocked books from your arms," second finger, "opened your shield in a doorway," third finger, "pushed you inside a locker _and sent you flying to somewhere else_."

"I didn't land far from the school," he laughed uncertainly.

"Uh-huh, tell that to Yang who had to pick you up on her bike and bring you back."

"Jaune, you know if you ever need help you can just ask," Pyrrha consoled. Sadly though, I think he wants to tackle it on his own, so he doesn't feel so useless.

"Ooh!" Nora cried, standing up. "We'll break his legs!"

"I'm in!" I jumped up and high-fived my ginger friend.

"Guys, really, it's fine," Jaune spoke, getting up from his seat with his tray in hand. "Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me. He's a jerk to everyone."

"True dat, man," I agreed, watching as he bullied one of the upperclassmen who happened to be a faunus.

"Ow, that hurts!" her accented cried as he tugged on her bunny ears. "Please stop."

Cardin and his team were still laughing, "I told you it was real."

"What a freak."

The bully let go and the rabbit faunus walked away with her head down.

"Atrocious," Pyrrha spoke. "I can't stand people like him."

"He's not the only one," Blake added.

Yang rested her head in her hand, "It must be hard to be a faunus."

Mine and three other pairs of eyes watched as Jaune walked away.

* * *

"Yes, yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution," Professor Oobleck, a green-haired man that needs to lay off whatever brand of coffee he drinks, started his lecture about the human-faunus conflict, "more popular known as the 'Faunus War', human kind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing faunus population in Menagerie." He sipped his coffee and zipped to in front of his desk, "Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it's imperative that you know that these are relatively recent events. Why the repercussions of this uprising can still be seen to this day." Zipped to another area of the room. He should really lay off the caffeine. "Now, have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your faunus heritage?" I glanced at Velvet, the rabbit faunus Cardin bullied, and saw that, albeit hesitantly, she did raise her hand. "Dreadful! Simply dreadful!" The students lowered their hands, "Remember students, it is exactly this kind of ignorance that breeds violence."

"Tell me about it," I muttered with a roll of my eyes.

He sipped more at his cup of joe, "I mean, I mean..." Oh god, he didn't need that extra sip. "I mean just look at what happened to the White Fang! Now! Which of you young scholars can tell me what many theorists believe was the turning point in the third year of the war." Weiss raised her hand, "Yes?"

"The Battle of Fort Castle."

"Precisely! And who can tell me the advantage the faunus had over General Lagoon's forces."

Cardin flicked a paper football at Jaune's head, "Hey," the blonde said instinctively, rubbing the back of his head.

"Mister Arc!" Oobleck was there in no time. "Finally contributing to class! This is excellent, excellent!" the green-haired teacher finally chilled out some, "What is the answer?"

Jaune stalled a great length of time before saying, "Binoculars!" This resulted in laughs from the rest of the classmates. Pyrrha, however, facepalmed. Cardin was laughing especially hard, which gained Professor Oobleck's attention.

The teacher zipped back to his desk, "Very funny, Mister Arc. Cardin, perhaps you would like to share your thoughts on the subject." Ooh, he didn't even use a Mister like he does for most of the students.

"Well, I know it's easier to train an animal than a soldier," the jerkwad said.

"Oh, ha ha, bird brains over here made a joke," I commented sarcastically, gaining a glare at the back of my head.

"Ya gotta problem?"

"With you, sure, but I also know that it happened to be night vision that was the advantage." I looked back to CRDL's leader, " _Not_ the fact that the faunus are part animal, dimwit."

"Right," Pyrrha agreed, "many faunus are known to have nearly perfect vision in the dark."

"General Lagoon was inexperienced and tried to ambush the faunus in their sleep," Blake added. "His massive army was outmatched and the general was captured."

"Ya know, I think I know someone who reminds me of General Lagoon," I commented. I grinned at the blue eyed bully, "Better pay attention Cardin, or you'll be just like 'im and go down as a failure."

Cardin stood from his seat and looked ready to fight me. Oh, my not-so-good friend, bring it. I would be _thrilled_ to wipe the floor with you. "Mister Winchester, please take your seat." Jaune was snickering in his seat, "You _and_ Mister Arc can see me after class for additional readings."

"Awe," the blonde groaned.

"Now! Moving on!"


	5. Chapter 5

I stood inside the building as Jaune and Pyrrha talked on the roof. So I was right, that clumsy blonde really did forge his way in. It's not something I wanted to be right about, but I was. And now he's taken his anger about his situation out on Pyrrha, who only wanted to help, driving her away.

"Oh, Jaune." Wait, when did bird brains get on the scene?

"Cardin!"

"I couldn't help but overhear you two from my dorm room." Oh, I wasn't the only one eavesdropping— of course, I'm not a jerkwad planning to use it against the teen. "So snuck into Beacon, huh? I gotta say, Jaune, I never expected _you_ to be such a rebel."

"Please, Cardin, _please_ don't tell anyone." Ugh, Jaune shouldn't have to basically be _grovelling_ the bully, but with how Cardin is, it's prob'ly the best option.

"Jaune, come on, I'd never rat out a friend like that." Oh, yes, you two are the _best_ of friends, aren't you.

"Uh, a friend?"

"Of course, we're friends now, Jauney boy." Why does it sound like Jaune is getting choke by Cardin? "And the way I see it, as long as you're there for me when I need you, we'll be friends for a long time." Ya know, asswipe, friends are there for _each other_ , not just one. I don't normally curse, but how Cardin is representing himself right now, those are the best words for him.

Still gonna call him bird brains on a daily basis, though.

"That being said," Cardin spoke over Jaune's slight coughing, "I really don't have time to do those extra readings Dr. Oobleck gave us today." Oh, don't you dare. "Think you could _take care_ of that for me, buddy?" A pause. "That's what I thought. Don't worry, Jaune, your secret's safe with me."

I stepped outside to find Jaune sitting on the ground, "Ya know, I could always give him a case of amnesia."

Deep blue eyes widened in shock and turned to meet my green ones, "Diana!" Jaune hastily got off the floor, "Diana, _please_ don't-!"

"I'm offended you thought I'd actually tell anyone," I huffed. "Besides, I already kinda figured it, though I honestly wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt."

"You already knew?"

"Sorry, this is gonna sound really harsh," I warned before explaining. "Beacon is known as a prestigious school, only truly skilled hunstmen-in-training are accepted, right?" Getting a nod, I continued, "You fight well enough to not automatically fail in Goodwitch's class, but you still fight like you've never been trained." He looked dejected at my statement but knew it held truth. "So when you add that with how Beacon is, they don't add up."

"I see," Jaune looked down to the side.

"But Jaune," I started, placing a hand on the lad's shoulder to gain his attention, "you have the potential to be great." I sent him a scolding look, "However, you sent away someone who was willing to help simply because you wanted to tackle this on your own. You're the leader of JNPR, you can't keep your team in the dark like this— especially if one is willing to help you out. If a team tries to lend its teammates a hand, that's when you know it's a great team. And, guess what, Jaune," deep blue orbs met soft green, "you have a team of greatness; don't drive them away, all right?"

"Thanks, 'Ana," Jaune gave a smile, though it didn't fully reach his eyes. My words didn't seem to reach him completely. It may take some time before he truly takes them to heart.

I guess I have another friend on the 'Ana wagon.

"Anytime, that's what friends do!" I turned to walk back inside. "Oh," I turned to look back at the blonde, "want me to tackle those readings for you? Wouldn't want that thing you call a brain to overload, now would we?"

The blonde Arc gave a slight chuckle, "It's fine, I'll already have read them for mine, so it won't be so bad to do Cardin's."

Ruffling my teal bangs, I sighed, "Whatever you say." I opened and left with, "Night, Jaune; don't stress too much, a'ight?"

* * *

I sat in JNPR's dorm for a bit, since my single dorm gets a little lonely from time to time. That and I haven't really hung out with Nora and Ren all that much lately.

It's been a couple days since my talk with Jaune. Cardin's fully used his piece of blackmail since then.

And I'm still pissed about it.

In the dorm, Nora was jumping on her bed while Pyrrha looked out the window and Ren reloaded and cleaned StormFlower. I took one of the empty beds and was laying on my stomach, black boots thunking against the floor as I tapped the tips of my feet on it.

"How come Jaune gets home so late?" Nora asked, still bouncing away on her mattress.

"He's become rather scarce ever since he's been fraternizing with Cardin," Ren replied as he polished his green pistols.

"That's weird," Nora commented.

"Yeah, I miss hanging with my fellow klutz," I added, huffing into the covers I lie on.

"Doesn't he know we have a field trip tomorrow?" Nora questioned rhetorically before flipping around and falling into her bed. "We need our rest!"

"I'm sure our leader knows _exactly_ what he's doing," Pyrrha spoke bitterly. She hasn't really been too happy with Jaune ever since he's been doing bird brains' bidding.

Nora and Ren exchanged looks while I sighed heavily, "Hmm, I guess so," the ginger relented.

It's all just become a big mess, hasn't it?

* * *

"Yes, students, the Forest of Forever Fall _is_ indeed beautiful," Professor Goodwitch began. Yep, you guessed it, our field trip was to the Forest of Forever Fall, a forest with trees filled with red leaves and the ground covered in said leaves. "But we are not here to sight see. Professor Peach has asked all of you to gather samples from trees deep within the forest. And _I'm_ here to make sure that none of you die while doing so." Wow, Glynda, you sure have a way with words. I walked at the front of the group with Jaune and bird brains taking up the rear. "Each of you is to gather one jars worth of red sap. However, this forest is full with the creatures of grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates."

"Yo," Professor Goodwitch sighed at my raised hand. She's kinda gotten a little done with me over the few weeks. Trust me, she may deny it, but she adores me. She just can't stand how often I question things.

I only do it in her class though.

"Yes, Miss Meranict, what is it this time?"

I put my hand down, "I don't have a team remember? Sooooo, what do I do?"

"Choose whatever team you'd like to stay with."

"A'ight."

The blonde teacher nodded and resumed from earlier, "We will rendezvous back here at four o'clock. Have fun." She actually had a nice tone in that last sentence.

Sweetness.

Since team RWBY and JNPR, minus the leader, were staying close by each other, I just decided to go with them. Trust me, I wanted to go with Jaune and help him with Cardin, but I can't baby him. He has to learn how to deal with these things on his own.

I stayed by Ren and Nora since I'm closest with them. Also someone has to keep Nora from eating all the tree sap.

She has a problem.

Sadly though, even if I take one second to look at the others, she's managed to eat the entire jar. Ren's constantly dropping his head in despair while I keep facepalming. The ginger doesn't reply other than scratching the back of her head sheepishly.

This progressed with Nora even sneaking some sap from the others as well, and Ren was starting to get huffy while I just started to snicker at the situation. I managed to hide my jar by strapping it to the outside of my thigh and covering it with the green fabric that flares under my leather vest. I know what you're thinking, and, yes, it's _really_ obvious.

But Nora only pays attention to the ones out in the open, so we're good.

" **Nora**!" I heard Pyrrha cry in scolding.

The ginger even managed to sneak some from the star-athlete, wow.

There was a roar in the distance.

"You guys hear that?" Ruby questioned as everyone paused in their sap collecting.

All of a sudden, three out of four members of CRDL came running towards us, "Ursa, Ursa!" the guy with the mo-hawk cried before Yang stopped and lifted him off the ground.

"What?! Where?"

"Back there!" he pointed to where they came from. "It's got Cardin!"

"So you just ditched your team leader?!" I questioned in shock. Some loyal teammates they are. My eyed widened in shock, "Oh no, Jaune!" I ran to where I knew the teen would be, right at Cardin's side. On the run there, I detached WhispBlade and assembled her into her main crossbow form. Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha were able to catch up to me, most likely from Ruby's semblance if I had to take a guess. We stopped and watched as the Ursa approached Cardin, sap stained on his armor I'm assuming the sap is what drew the Ursa to him.

The grimm surged a claw forward in attack but was stopped by a familiar white and gold shield. All eyes looked on in shock as Jaune stopped his bully from getting pulverized. I gave a soft smile, for Jaune being okay _and_ for the fact that he wouldn't let Cardin get hurt if he could help it.

Softie.

Weiss prepared her rapier in order to give aid, but Pyrrha had other thoughts, "Wait!" I continued watching the blonde Arc, impressed that he was lasting this long. He was, however, knocked aside by the Ursa. The beast and Jaune ran at each other, the huntsman-in-training with his sword poised for a slash, but Jaune was open on his left. The grimm will surely be able to take a chunk out of his side with it that wide open. From the corner of my eye, I saw Pyrrha raise her hand and suddenly Jaune raised his shield, blocking the swipe and decapitating the Ursa. Ahh, I think I get what the redhead's semblance is now.

"Uhh, what?" the silver-eyed girl voice in confusion.

"How did you-?" Weiss started.

"Well, Ruby has her speed," Pyrrha started, "you have your glyphs, my semblance is polarity."

Ruby looked at the athlete in awe, "You can control poles." I started snickering _really_ bad at that. With the threat now gone, I collapsed WhispBlade and hooked her back to my belt.

"No, you dunce, it means she has control over magnetism."

"Magnets are cool, too..."

Pyrrha turned to walk away, "Wait, where are you going?" the white-haired heiress asked.

"Yeah, we gotta tell them what happened!"

"We could," bright green eyes stared at the blonde, "or we could just keep it our little secret."

The three walked away while I watched Jaune help up his previous bully. After saving his life, I don't think bird brains will mess with Jaune anymore. "Holy crap, Jaune..." Yeah, Cardin's impressed.

Better stay in your lane, bird brains.

"Don't ever think of messing with my team, or even try messing with one of my friends, again," the blonde male nearly hissed as he let go of CRDL's team leader's hand. "Got it?" There was tense silence before Jaune walked to where I was.

"Exciting day, huh?" I asked with a soft grin, pointing to the bruise on his cheek.

My blonde friend grinned back me, albeit a little weakly, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

I swung a white-clad arm around his shoulder, my onyx arm brace clinking against his armor, "I'm proud of you, Jaune; ya not only stood up to your bully, but you also took out an Ursa all on your own!" I'm definitely not telling him about Pyrrha lending a helping hand, this'll help boost his confidence to get better.

His grin came back a little stronger at my praise, "Ya really think so?"

"Absolutely!"

"Ow!" Jaune cried, nursing the spot on his head I just smacked.

"That's for being an idiot and not getting help from your team."

"I guess you're right."

"You'll find that, for the most part, I'm nearly always right."

* * *

 **Omake**

 _With Jaune and CRDL_

The team CRDL was relaxing against some of the forest trees and rocks while their newly appointed "errand boy" went and got the six jars of sap they needed for Cardin's big idea. The blonde teen walked on scene with the sap-filled jars in his arms. Jaune dropped the jars, none breaking thankfully, and was next to hit the ground.

"Hey, great work, Jauney boy," Cardin praised. "Now that wasn't too hard, was it?"

Jaune lifted his head with an unwell look on his visage, "I think I'm allergic to this stuff," the boy said stuffily.

"Great, great, great," the bulky teen spoke, not even really listening to Jaune. "So, Jaune, I bet you're wondering, 'Why did my buddy Cardin ask me to get six jars of tree sap when there's only five of us?'"

"That is one of the many questions I have asked myself today, yes."

"Well," Cardin said as the blonde sat up, "come with me, and you'll find out."

"Ooh..." the blonde lad groaned, not having a good feeling about what his fellow team leader had planned.

The five were now on a hill overlooking the rest of JNPR, RWBY, and Diana getting the required tree sap.

Jaune's bad feeling only grew more at seeing who they were watching, "Cardin," the male Arc started, "what's going on?"

"Payback," the brown-haired teen uttered bitterly, eyes fixed on a certain green-eyed ebonette that was trying to help restrain Nora from eating all the sap.

"You mean, Diana?" Deep blues looked back to the male Winchester, "What do you-?"

"That's her all right," Cardin confirmed. "Black hair, stupid dye job, thinks she's so funny. Would've been the know-it-all redhead, but this one just pushed my buttons a little too far in Oobleck's class." The teen reached behind him and grabbed a cardboard box with a _W_ written on it, "Alright, boys, last night old Jaune here managed to round up an entire box full of Rapier Wasps." The constant angry buzzing from the box furthered proved his point. "And now, we're gonna put 'em to work." Jaune gave a nervous laugh, not knowing this would be the intent of what he gathered. "Now according to the essay he wrote for me last week, these nasty things _loooove_ sweets." Cardin shot another bitter glare to the snickering teen as she watched Ren huff at their ginger friend for eating more sap. "I'm thinking it's time we teach _her_ a thing or two." The others began to get up as Cardin helped Jaune up, only to shove the extra jar of sap into the blonde's hands, "And you're gonna do it."

"Do what?" Jaune asked, not really liking what the answer would be.

"Hit her with the sap. Either that, or _I'll_ have a chat with Goodwitch and you'll be on the first airship out of Beacon."

Jaune looked uncertainly at the jar, then back to CRDL. Gulping, he pulled his arm back, preparing to toss the jar, until he thought back to what Diana had said to him.

 _"Anytime, that's what friends do!"_

Was he _really_ going to do this to someone who not only he feels is a friend, but sees him as one back?

No, he wasn't.

"No," Jaune spoke, closing his eyes and lowering the jar.

"What did you say?" Cardin questioned, not really believing that the blonde would have the nerve to deny him.

"I said," Jaune turned and threw the jar at his blackmailer, "'no'!" Though the blue eyed male lost his confidence when he saw how angry Cardin was at the sap staining his chestplate.

Cardin laughed sarcastically, "You've done it now."

Jaune laughed nervously as hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him away.


	6. Chapter 6

I was walking around the city of Vale seeing all the decorations for the Vytal Festival set up. I was here to meet a friend since her dad had messaged me on my scroll that she was coming for the Vytal Festival's battle tournament. My family was closely related to her father after supplying him with the parts he needed for an important project. The Atlesian Military also helped him by sponsoring the project.

"Salutations!" I heard a cheery voice behind me.

Grinning, I turned to face my close orangette friend, "Penny!" I was quickly grabbed into a spine-crushing hug.

"Oh, I've missed you so, my good friend!"

"Yes, yes, I've missed you too, Penny," I gritted out. Trust me, she has a really strong grip. "Could you, uh, possibly let go? I think one of my lungs is gonna collapse."

"Sure!" She happily released and I bent over with my hands on my knees, wheezing.

I straightened up, "So I hear you're entering the battle tournament. Are you excited for it?"

"Absolutely!"

I grinned at the cheery teen, "Sweet, I'll be sure to be there!"

Light green eyes widened in excitement, "You really mean it?!"

I gave a laugh, "Of course!" Penny was pretty much always happy and cheerful.

She's absolutely precious.

Before Penny could get too pumped, I slung my arm around her shoulder and grinned, "Since it's your first time in Vale and everything, we should totally go sightseeing!"

My old friend clapped her hands happily, "That's a wonderful idea!"

I tossed my arms in the air, "Awesome!" I nabbed Penny's hand and ran ahead, "Then let's get going! Vale _is_ a pretty big place you know!"

* * *

It's been about half an hour since Penny and I started our tour of Vale. In that time we had visited a few stores and were now walking in Downtown Vale.

"Ya know, I'm really glad we were able to hang out like this," I said after a pause in our previous conversation.

Penny nodded with a smile and a hum, "I am, too! It's been awhile since we were able to properly 'hang out'!" The ginger added in air quotes where they were appropriate.

I laughed while shaking my head, "Did you really use air quotes just for the term 'hang out'? Gees, you're such an old lady, Penny."

Said girl tilted her head, "An old lady? But I'm still really young, Diana!"

I facepalmed at my friend's obliviousness when I heard running footsteps. We both looked on as a tanned blonde teen ran past us with two other guys chasing after him.

Wait, did he just wink at me?

I watched the running trio when I heard an "Oomph!" at my side. Looking to where Penny was, I had to look down since she was apparently no longer standing.

"Ugh, he got away!" a certain white-haired heiress whined.

"Weiss?" I questioned my fellow classmate who was still crouched beside my orange-haired friend.

"Diana?" Icy orbs stared into mine in surprise.

"Uh, Weiss," Yang, who I just now realized was also here along with the rest of team RWBY, spoke and gestured to my _still_ lying down friend.

Penny gave a wide grin while Weiss jumped back in shock. "Salutations!" the girl said in her usual greeting.

"Um, hello," Ruby spoke, mildly awkward. I see her social skills have improved since the beginning of the school year.

Wonderful.

"Um," the blonde of our rag-tag group started, "are you okay?"

"I'm _wonderful_! Thank you for asking!" Penny spoke not sarcastically. Trust me, she's never been sarcastic. Penny just doesn't _do_ sarcasm.

"Do you...wanna get up?" Yang asked slowly after seeing my companion was still lain upon the street.

Apparently Penny needed to think on this, "Yes!"

She still didn't get off the ground.

"Penny, for the love of dust, please stand up," I spoke in exasperation. I love her, really I do, but sometimes I just can't handle her quirkiness.

"All righty!" The orangette then rolled most of her weight back onto her hands and launched herself back to her feet. Team RWBY proceeded to take a synchronized step back away from her. Oh, c'mon, I know Penny's a bit strange but the step thing wasn't needed.

My friends can be so _rude_.

"My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!" My fellow green-eyed companion spoke, followed by the other girls' introductions.

"Hi, Penny, my name's Ruby."

"I'm Weiss."

"Blake."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Yang questioned before she received an elbow in the side, courtesy of Blake. Yang glanced to the ebonette before realizing she hadn't introduced herself, "Oh, I'm Yang."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Penny repeated cheerfully.

"You already said that," the heiress said with a weirded out look on her face.

"She can be a bit ditzy now and again," I commented as my friend thought back on her words.

"You seem really close to her, 'Ana," Ruby said with a curious look.

"You bet me and her are close!" I tossed my arm around Penny's shoulders, "I've known Penny all her life."

All four of the team seemed really shocked at this. Wonder why?

"Well," Weiss spoke after an awkward moment of silence, "sorry for running into you." The team all turned and started to leave.

"Take care, friend," Ruby said with a gesture of goodbye.

Oh Ruby, you sweet innocent child, you have no clue what you've just done.

In an instant, Penny was gone from my side and stood in front of the group, "What did you call me?"

Yang mistook her question as her being offended to _something_ the blonde said while Weiss just looked straight up **broken** trying to figure out how Penny was able to get in front.

"No, not you," Penny said after Yang's apologetic ramblings. Penny walked to stand _directly_ in front of Ruby while I made my way to the group, " _You_."

"Me?!" the black-haired teen squeaked. "I don't know, I-I, uh—"

"You just called me 'friend'!" The orange-haired bow wearing teen stared at Ruby, "Am I really your _friend_?"

"Um," Ruby stalled, glancing back to her teammates who were STRONGLY suggesting her to say "no". I gave them a blank look that borderlined on glaring. Despite her team's warnings, Ruby answered with, "Y-yeah, sure! Why not!"

The rest of the young girl's team collapsed while Penny gave an excited laugh, "Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!"

I gave a sigh and clapped the orangette on her shoulder, "I already told you, Penny, not all girl friends do that kinda stuff. I mean, we sure don't."

"Oh, but maybe she will, Diana!" the excitable teen cried, lightly bouncing in her place. I shook my head at her excitement of a generalization of how girl friends were.

"Sooo what're you doing in Vale?" Yang questioned curiously after she and the other two teens dusted themselves off.

"Penny here plans on fighting in the tournament," I replied, patting said girl on her shoulder.

"Wait," Weiss started, "you're fighting in the tournament?"

"I'm combat ready!" Penny said with a salute.

"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part."

"Says the girl/one wearing a dress," Blake and I spoke in unison. I winked at my fellow ebonette as she chuckled.

"It's a combat skirt," Weiss defended.

"Yeah," Ruby agreed after using her semblance to reach her partner's side. Taking it a step further, the two low-fived each other.

"Dorks," I snorted with a grin while shaking my head.

"Wait a minute," our local heiress stepped forward and grabbed Penny by her shoulders, "does that mean you know that monkey-tailed rapscallion?!"

I shared a confused look with Penny, "The who?" we spoke.

Weiss pulled a _horribly_ drawn picture of who she was apparently looking for, "That filthy faunus from the boat!"

Before either me or Penny could say anything, Blake cut in, "Why do you keep saying that?!"

"Huh?!"

"Stop calling him a rapscallion, stop calling him a degenerate! He's a person!" Blake defended, apparently feeling _very_ strongly about the topic.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Weiss spoke, not apologetic in the least, "would you like me to stop referring to the trashcan as a trashcan?" Penny and I glanced to each other from the corner of our eyes. I dunno how she's feelin' in this situation, but I feel awkward as all get out at the dispute both the teens were having. "Or this lamppost as a lamppost?!"

"Stop it!"

"Stop what?! He clearly broke the law; give him time, he'll probably join up with the other faunus in the White Fang." I noticed Blake's hand ball into a fist.

"Ugh, you ignorant, little brat!" With that, the bow wearing ebonette stalked away.

"How dare you talk to me like that!" Weiss cried at Blake's retreating figure. "I am your teammate!"

" _You_ are a judgmental little girl."

"What in the world makes you say that?!"

Yang sidled up to where me, Penny, Ruby were standing, "Uh, I think we should go..."

"Go where?" my _innocent_ lil friend asked, totally unaffected by the spat between the two teammates.

"Welp, I dunno how you two can get away from this... situation," I commented to the sisters before grabbing Penny's wrist, "but what I do know is that me and Penny are going to walk away before this escalates anymore than I would like while I'm in the vicinity. Okay? All right."

On that note, I started dragging Penny away while she waved to the four we were abandoning, still not at all disturbed by the falling out that was happening in front of her, "Bye, Ruby and Yang! I hope to see you all again very soon!"

* * *

 **A/N: All righty, I hope this chapter pleased everyone! If you didn't read the notice I put up yesterday (bc ya know the site didn't say I updated the fic which is BULLSHIT) I editied the story to fit with my OC's new profile (if you're an older reader you may have noticed her name is now Diana rather than Exnira)**

 **Now, I'm not guaranteeing when I'll get the next chapter out cuz god bless I won't follow through; the only thing I'm ABSOLUTELY positive of is that I will be finishing Vol.1 in the next chapter.**

 **Also, if I have a fight scene written for that chapter, don't judge it too hard aight? I've only ever written a fight scene in one fanfic and that's my Kekkaishi one so ya know, have some mercy.**

 **Thank you for reading! ^^**


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